25 and 50 Yard ARX .45 ACP Results

By Joe Berk

I am giving the .45 ACP ARX 118-grain bullets a thorough evaluation in my Springfield 1911. I’ve been using my Winchester 231 load (7.0 grains, to be precise), and I continue to be impressed with just how accurate these bullets are.

One day recently when I was on the range with the 1911 and my ARX reloads, it was very windy. I shot at 25 yards, had a decent group, and then two things happened:

- - I moved the target out to 50 yards, and
  - The wind picked up significantly.

You might call someone who evaluates a load for accuracy under high wind conditions not very bright. Hey, guilty as charged. That’s exactly what I was doing.

Under those extremely windy conditions, I was surprised. The bullets impacted the 50-yard target a foot to the right. I kept cranking in windage adjustments on the 1911’s rear sight and I still couldn’t get the bullets back on target.

A cold and foggy morning on the West End Gun Club range. The left arrow points to my 25-yard target, which I subsequently moved out to 50 yards. The right arrow points to a target on the 100-yard line (I brought the Garand along; it’s not addressed in this blog). I had to wait for the fog to clear a bit; I could barely see the target.

Realizing there had to be more to the story, I went out to test the load again at 25 and 50 yards a few days later when the wind had died down. It was cold and foggy, but there was no wind.

Five rounds with ARX bullets at 25 yards. All five went into the 10-ring.

I put the target at 25 yards and fired 5 rounds with my ARX load. Nice, I thought, as I looked through my spotting scope. All five shots were in the 10-ring, and 3 of those were in the X-ring.

I then moved the same target out to 50 yards and fired another five rounds. Wow, was I ever pleased. The 50-yard group was right on top of the 25-yard group, with a couple that went a little high (but they were still in the black).

Five more rounds on the same target as above (a regulation 25-yard pistol target), this time at 50 yards. Beware of old guys; some of us are still pretty good shots.

The above results and my experience the preceding week convinced me of three things:

- - The ARX bullets are probably more affected by wind than conventional bullets at longer ranges (not surprising, as they are half the weight of normal 230-grain hardball bullets),
  - The ARX bullets are exceptionally accurate, and
  - The ARX load is a relatively flat-shooting load (I didn’t have to make any sight adjustments when going from 25 to 50 yards).

I like these ARX bullets, and I like this load.

Next up? I’ll be evaluating this .45 ACP ARX load in a couple of my revolvers. That’s going to be interesting. I promise.

Prior ExNotes ARX bullet evaluations are here:

Winchester 231 and Alliant Power Pistol .45 ACP ARX Results
Dialing In A .45 ACP ARX Load
9mm and .45 ACP ARX Load Testing
ARX Bullets In Two 9mm Pistols

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